Prelude to Destruction
by Neo Pryde
Summary: After a brutal war which nearly devastated Humanity, archelogists discover an alien artifact on Sigma Altaris VI. The artifact pertains to a conspiracy within the Human government, and the original aliens...
1. Prelude

Prelude to Destruction 

A Novel by Admiral Neo

Chapter One 

Sigma Altaris VI, Code-named "Zhandria",

Earth Calendar July 25th, 2499, 0600 Hours Standard Time

Aboard Consortium Destroyer T.C.S. _Zephranteyes_

Space. Its big, black emptiness has called to Humanity ever since the first cavemen looked up into the sky and saw the stars. Well, Humanity has finally answered that call. Ever since the discovery of the Cornelius Drive by Doctor Simon Cornelius nearly 400 years ago, Humanity forgot all their petty conflicts of land, religion, language, the like.

Humankind banded into the Terran Consortium, and reached for the stars. Overpopulation had become a problem on Earth at this time, even with the Third World War being just a decade over. After the fiasco in Iraq by President George W. Bush of the United States of America, terrorism still became a problem, and radical Islamic organizations eventually took control over many Middle Eastern Countries and formed the United Nations of Islam.

After a massive military build up by the UNI, they declared war on the rest of Africa and the Middle East, dragging many poor nations, whose militaries unsuited for a conflict on this scale, into the fold. Many nations sought help from nations like Britain, France and the United States. A misfired missile from a French Destroyer on the British Flagship caused France and England to go to war with each other, and in anger, attacked other nations, which had been long time allies.

Soon it was every country for themselves, and the poorer nations were quickly conquered by the larger nations. Causalities were estimated at one billon, with many ethnic groups totally eradicated. Religious fanatics all over the world were calling it Armageddon, the Second Coming, and that their religious icons would soon descend from Heaven and punish Humanity for ruining the Earth.

With all the countries practically battering each other silly until they were exhausted, global leaders all agreed to a cease fire, but continued to rebuild their weakened armies and navies and air forces. Boarder skirmishes were common, and some nations declaring war against their nations. Many scholars thought this was a prelude to the Fourth World War.

Until something miraculous happened.

Doctor Simon Fitzgerald Cornelius proved that FTL travel was possible, and showed his theories to the scientific community. At first he was ridiculed for his theories, but after many scientists swallowed their pride, they checked his work and proved that he was, indeed correct.

The Cornelius Drive works by making the drive be at a low-level, which produces a small amount of anti-gravitons. The sensing equipment on the edge of the drive detects where the anti-gravitons are leading. Once a point is determined by the anti-gravitons, the ship then heads to it, using its Fusion-Ion Engines. When the ship is close enough, or at the point of anti-graviton attraction, the Cornelius Drive is activated, which produces a tear in the Space-Time Continuum, which can allow the ship to travel anywhere in a radius of ten light-years. The more power that is pumped into the Drive, the farther the range of the ship. Intense amounts of calculations are required prior to jumping, as the ship could materialize into an asteroid, another ship, a planet, or even the _sun _of the system.

And so the discovery was presented to all of Humanity, and it was agreed that the squabbles of Earth were meaningless compared to what was possible with this new drive. And so the global nations formed the Terran Consortium and constructed the first interstellar capable ship, the T.C.S. _Prophet_. The _Prophet, _equipped with new Ion Drives and the first ever Fusion reactor, journeyed to the nadir point of the Sol system and activated the Cornelius Drive. The ship was instantly transported from the Sol System to the nearby star system of Alpha Centauri, were the crew went quickly to work.

After a few day recharge, the ship jumped back to the Sol System, proving that the drive did indeed work. The Terran Consortium immediately began a massive colonization program, and thousands of colony ships were built. The prospect of free land and a chance to leave the devastated Earth was a good one to many of Humanity, and around 60 of the global population signed up on a colony ship. Within a century, the Consortium controlled two hundred worlds within a span of 10,000 light-years from Sol.

But on January 14th, 2290, on the eve of the celebration of the discovery of the Cornelius Drive, which made the Consortium's power possible, a Consortium ship near the edge of known space detected a strange, non-human transmission. The Consortium ship sent to investigate, the T.C.S. _Durandal_ arrived on February 4th, 2290, and the ship they encountered was obviously alien in origin.

The _Durandal _attempted contact on February 6th, 2290 at 1200 hours, CST, after two days of observation. The alien ship, later to be identified as the _Might of Valor _opened fire at 1205 hours, instantly destroying the _Durandal_. After four years of complete silence and total military gear up of the Consortium, the alien fleets arrived near Delta Kataeris III, and completely annihilated the Consortium forces stationed there.

The Consortium fleet constantly engaged the alien force, which would later be known by Humans as the Shadow Confederation. The Shadow's fleets were faster, stronger, and stealthier than their Human counter parts, and for thirty-seven years, the Terran fleets were beaten time and time again, and world after world was lost.

When all hope was lost, a soldier named Zack Dumille took charge of the T.C.S. _Leviathan_ and staged an attack on a believed minor Shadow colony. Much to the surprise of the Consortium, the Shadow's retreated after being attacked, and sent all ships to protect the colony.

The latest in Consortium technology at the time, the Death Smasher, a recovered piece of ancient technology, was onboard the _Leviathan_ and for the first, and only time, it was used again the Shadows. The entire Shadow fleet simply disappeared, and the world which had the colony, erupted. The _Leviathan_, and her crew, however, were unharmed.

Now, nearly 150 years ago since the war, the Shadows have never been seen or heard of again. The worlds lost were recolonized, and the Consortium navy was stronger than ever, patrolling the boarders. Sigma Altaris VI became a hub of the Consortium, where the primary shipyards and training facilities were located.

The might Death Smasher, however, was disassembled and examined, and even today, that mighty piece of technology is still unknown to the Consortium.

Now, in the year 2499, Captain Jack Archer has been assigned to Sigma Altaris VI, to oversee the excavation of alien ruins with Dr. Michael Halsey.

"This flight has been way to long," complained Dr. Halsey. "Every second we waste on this flying rustbuck takes our time away that we could examine these ruins!"

Captain Archer just wanted to shot the man. Dr. Halsey might be the most renowned Doctor of the Study of Alien and Foreign Technology, but he was still a pain in the ass.

"We'll be arriving in a matter of hours, Doctor. We still need clearance from Reach Shipyards, and then we'll have to take a shuttlecraft down to the surface, and a metro to the site. Consortium Command wants this mission to remain hush-hush," said Archer.

"Yes, yes, yes. But can't they find a faster way to do this military bullshit?"

Archer sighed, and keyed a button on the intercom, and said something in _Tari, _the language of the Terran Consortium. "We'll be in orbit of Sigma Altaris VI in ten minutes, Doctor. Why don't you head down the shuttle bay, and get the _Viking_ prepared for our journey?"

"Right, whatever." And with that Doctor Halsey unbuckled himself from his chair, and floated to the door, swung himself around, and drifted along. The door closed itself automatically behind him.

"That man is such a pain in the ass,…" muttered Archer. "Control, this is T.C.S. _Zephranteyes_, requesting permission to send down shuttle to planet, to transport VIP to the alien ruin site Alpha 998A, over."

A woman's voice crackled over the radio. "Acknowledged, _Zephranteyes_, you have permission to send a shuttle to the planet. Please proceed to the following coordinates, launch your shuttle, and await further instructions. Control out."

Archer turned off the radio, and took of his headset, and clicked on the intercom, spoke something in Tari again, and set the ship on autopilot, and unbuckled himself from his chair, and floated to the door, which opened automatically, and he drifted along to the turbolift.

"B Deck," Archer said, holding onto the railings, and the turbolift's computer acknowledged, and the lift moved upward. After a few minute ascension, the lift stopped, and he arrived onto the Destroyer's massive launch bay. The shuttle _Viking _was already prepared, and the hatch was open.

"My, you sure took your sweet time. Get your ass in here, we don't have all day," said Doctor Halsey.

Archer grumbled a complaint, and walked into the shuttle, and cycled the hatch.

"Bridge, this is Captain Archer, on shuttle _Viking._ Requesting clearance to launch."

"Roger,_ Viking. _Your clear to launch." And with that, the ion engines of the shuttle flared to life, and the craft exited the _Zephranteyes_. In the starboard window, the gray-silver world of Sigma Altaris VI loomed on the horizon. Massive gray rings, and spider-like docks, as well as massive orbiting battle cannons orbited the mighty planet. The _Viking _entered the planet's atmosphere, and the bottom of the craft flared a brilliant bright red.

After a short descent into the atmosphere, the craft arrived at one of the metro bases on planet, to help ferry passengers quickly from one place to another. The shuttle's thrusters activated, slowing the craft down, and landing gear opened up. The craft gently landed on the docking pad. The hatch opened up, and Captain Archer and Doctor Halsey walked off the shuttle.

The two men passed an attendant, who smiled cheerfully at them, and they boarded a small transit.

"State your Identification and destination," said the train's computer.

"Halsey, Doctor Michael. Destination: Terran Consortium Archeological Site Alpha 998A."

"Identity confirmed. Welcome aboard Doctor. This train will be departing in ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One." The doors closed, and the transit sped off on the railings. A quiet half an hour later, the transit arrived at the site. Archer and Halsey said little on the journey. Archer disliked Halsey, and Halsey disliked Archer.

The transit came to a gear-grinding stop, and the door opened. Two black-armored Terran Marines, with their C-98 rifles at ready, stood at the base of the transit. They saluted Doctor Halsey and Captain Archer, who saluted them in return. The two walked into the query, were they were greeted by Doctor Halsey's assist, Doctor Robert Malkine.

"About time you showed up, Doctor, we were wondering when you would arrive," Malkine said.

"What have you found, Doctor?" asked Halsey.

"Come and see." And with that, the three men walked deeper into the query, where a large hole, about a three kilometers wide and long, and three deep, was an object, spherical in shape a kilometer at all ends.

"Oh my God," muttered Doctor Halsey.

End of Chapter 1.


	2. Beware of Shadows

Chapter Two 

Sigma Altaris VI, Code-named "Zhandria",

Earth Calendar July 25th, 2499, 0900 Hours Standard Time;

Terran Consortium Archeological Site Alpha 998A.

Doctor Halsey was staring at the alien artifact with a look of complete astonishment. After a couple of seconds, Halsey snapped back to reality and turned to Malkine.

"What do we know about the artifact?" asked Halsey.

Malkine shook his head. "Nothing, other than it's very big. We have no clue how long the artifact has been here; it's origin, and its purpose. We were just about to send a team into the artifact when you arrived." And as Malkine finished his sentence, a pair of GEVs, Ground Excavation Vehicles activated, and hovered towards the massive artifact.

"We'll keep you informed of what we find, Doctor."

A black-armored Marine Lieutenant walked into the query. "Captain Archer?" the Marine asked. Archer turned around to face the Marine. "Sir, your wanted aboard the _Andryakova _by Admiral Hanley, he says it's urgent, sir."

"Inform the Admiral I'm on my way, Lieutenant." And Archer followed the Marine to the transit, and the two men boarded the vehicle and it sped off.

---

An hour later, Archer was standing at attention in the observation lounge of the Consortium Battleship, _Andryakova. _Vice Admiral Hanley stood with both hands clasped behind his back, looking out of the large, bubble-shaped view port of the lounge. Unlike the _Zephranteyes, _which lacked any form of simulated or artificial gravity whatsoever, the _Andryakova _had a large rotating section in the middle of the large vessel.

Archer had been waiting in the lounge for a good twenty minutes now, and Hanley had yet to speak. He was rather uncomfortable standing at attention for such a long time, but he remained quiet, it would be rude to do so otherwise. Finally, Hanley turned around and spoke.

"At ease, Captain," said Hanley in a rasped voice. "Please, sit down, son." Archer took a chair at the long table located in the middle of the lounge. Hanley remained standing.

"I bet your wondering why I called you up here, especially with our recent discovery of the alien artifact on the planet's surface, and why I kept you waiting for so long." Archer nodded. "Well, let me tell you a little history of Sigma Altaris VI. Sigma Altaris VI was colonized in the year 2254, lost during the Shadow War, and recolonized in 2456, and was on the fringe of the Consortium. The planet itself has no strategic value, no resources, and is barely habitable by Human standards. A team of scientists visiting the planet found an alien artifact not unlike the one you saw today, and another team found another. They analyzed these artifacts, and after a few days of study, they went completely crazy.

A squad of Marines killed the scientists, but not after they murdered two hundred people. The Office of Naval Intelligence looked over the scientist's notes, and they found astonishing information. A day later, High Command evacuated the planet of its civilian population, and we established this base you see here today." Hanley gestured towards the red planet below. "As you know, it's only been recently since we've allowed civilians to live on Sigma Altaris VI."

"And what of their records, sir?" asked Archer.

"The scientist's notes on the artifacts are so classified, I can't even tell you the header of the first page," replied Hanley.

The intercom on the wall crackled. _"Admiral, sir, could you please have Captain Archer return to the planet? We might have found something, sir."_

"This is Hanley, I'll send him down immediately." He clicked off the COM. "Now Archer, we think we have an idea of what this artifact is, and my orders to you are that if anything weird or crazy starts to happen down there, do not get involved. You understand me, son?"

Archer was confused, and he wrinkled his brow, but responded. "Perfectly, sir."

"Good. Your dismissed, son." And Hanley turned back to the view port, hands clasped behind his back. Archer got up from his chair, saluted, and walked out of the room. Archer was completely baffled as to why the Admiral called him up here, wasting valuable money and fuel to basically tell him a riddle. He knew superiors were supposed to be confusing, but not as confusing as Hanley was, moments ago.

Archer kept on thinking about the Admiral's words as he boarded a shuttle back to the planet.

---

Archer entered the query, and was immediately met by Malkine.

"Where's Doctor Halsey?" asked Archer.

"He's had prior engagements he needed to attend to right now," replied Malkine. "Follow me." And the two men walked further into the query, and boarded an elevator. Malkine hit the down button, and the elevator slowly descended. After a five hundred meter drop, the elevator stopped, and the two men exited it.

Two men in GEVs were working on what appeared to be an old-fashioned fuse box. Sparks flew from the panels next to the box, as they attempted to rewire the ancient machinery.

Malkine spoke. "We believe we found an ancient power grid on this reactor. We have no idea what they might do when connected, and we simply wanted a senior officer present when we connected the grid." Malkine nodded to one of the men in a GEV. "Do it."

And the GEV put two large wires together, and activated a portable fusion battery. Power and electricity flickered from the wires, and entered the fuse box. Then, the whole artifact lit up in a spectacle of energy. Archer looked up in complete awe. The black artifact kept shimmering from colors of bright red, silver, gold, brilliant white, and to dark purple, and black again. Then, all at once, the artifact dimmed, and the power disappeared.

"That's it? Just a light show?" asked Malkine in disappointment, and kicked the fusion battery, before walking off and boarding the elevator. Archer, however, was scrutinizing the artifact a little more carefully. He swore he saw a small black, shadowy figure in the corner of his eyes, and when he turned, it disappeared. One of the men in the GEVs started coughing, furiously.

"You ok, Sergeant?" asked Archer. The Sergeant cleared his throat, hit his chest a few times, and swallowed.

"Yes, sir. I reckon I just got somethin' in my throat, that's all, sir." And the man went back to his work. Archer made note of all that had happened, and joined Malkine in the elevator, took one last look at the artifact, and hit the up button. After going through the security check points which seemed to be the tenth time that day, Archer took a transit to downtown New Eden, the capital of Zhandria.

After wondering the downtown area for a while, he eventually found his favorite bar, _Zhanos_. Archer ordered a single malt scotch, and sat at one of the many booths in the bar. Archer kicked his head back and listened to the music; he had been away from New Eden for to long. Archer took a sip of his drink when he noticed a very attractive redhead, with green eyes, a seductive look and cleavage was sitting across from him.

"Are you Captain Jack Archer of the T.C.S. _Zephranteyes, _who visited the alien artifact and Admiral Hanley today?" asked the redhead. Archer was taken aback, but responded.

"Yes, but that information is classified. Who are you?" asked Archer.

The redhead introduced herself. "I'm Rachael McDaniel, my comrades call me '_Quierath Mots'._" She laughed at her own joke and the look on Archer's face.

_Authors note, Quierath Mots is Tari for "Want more"._

"I'm just teasing, they don't call me that. But on a serious note, I'm the leader of the Terran Resistance. You may have heard of us on the newsnets." Archer nodded. He heard about the Resistance daily, and the mayhem they caused against the Consortium.

"Well your obviously not a smart leader, coming here to Zhandria, the biggest military base next to Earth in all of the Consortium. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here to offer you to join the Resistance. My contacts and I have reason to believe that the artifact you found here today is a Shadow artifact, and a dangerous one at that. What did Admiral Hanley order you to do when you met with him?"

Archer paused. "He ordered me not to interfere if anything weird happens on the planet."

McDaniel held up a finger. "Exactly. We have reason to believe that key members of the Office of Naval Intelligence knows about these artifacts, and wants the Shadows to return, so that they can take the credit for defeating them a second time, and take over the entire Consortium."

Archer thought about what McDaniel had just said, all that had happened today, and the orders he had received. It made sense, why else would he be told not to interfere with the possible deaths of hundreds, and information about what the last expeditions had found?

"I'll think about it," Archer finally said.

"Good. I'll be staying at the Grand New Eden Hotel. You know where that is? Good, then I'll be seeing you." And with that, Rachael McDaniel got up, kissed Archer on the cheek, and walked off. Archer sighed, shook his head, and finished his drink. As Archer got up, the bartender suddenly started choking. He coughed three times, cleared his throat, and stopped choking. He then went back to his work as if nothing had happened.

Archer raised an eyebrow and left the Zhanos Bar. As Archer walked into the darkness, unknown to him, a shadowy figure got up from his table, left the bar, and followed Archer as he walked towards the transit area…

End of Chapter 2.


	3. Return

Chapter Three 

Sigma Altaris VI, Code-named "Zhandria",

Earth Calendar July 25th, 2499, 1800 Hours Standard Time;

New Eden City, Zhandria.

The transit doors opened, and Archer and a group of people, including a shadowy figure in a brown cloak, entered the empty metro. A smooth female voice resounded, and the doors to the metro closed. Archer grabbed a handhold as the metro sped off for its destination to downtown New Eden City.

As the transit came to a gear grinding halt at its first destination, practically everyone on the metro got off, except Archer, and the cloaked figure. The doors closed again, and the transit moved on. Archer, while relatively tired from the day's work, and his thoughts clouded from his drink, still had his keen military senses alert.

As he thought he heard movement, Archer noticed the cloaked figure moving out of his peripheral vision. _Whoosh!_ The cloaked figure had a switchblade attached to its right hand and had lashed out at Archer's head, but Archer had ducked before the figure could get him in the back of the head. The blade stuck to the wall, and the would-be assassin struggled to pull the blade out.

Archer kicked the figure squarely in the chest, and kicked again in the groin. The figure made no sound, or appeared to be even remotely harmed. Archer punched the person in the temple, and blood poured from the figure's ear, but they made no sound. Archer's assailant managed to get his blade out, and swung downward at Archer.

Archer dodged the blow, but the assassin nicked Archer's side. Archer dropped to his side for a second, groaned as blood leaked from his wound and dodged another of the assassins strikes. As the assassin prepared to strike again, Archer kicked the figure in the groin again, and charged right at the assassin.

The assassin flailed, blade in hand as Archer had caught the assassin by the knees, and flipped them. Archer ran to the back of the transit, and took a defensive stance. The assassin got up, and charged at Archer, screaming madly. Archer hit the emergency stop on the metro, and took a handhold on the sides as the assassin lost their balance and fell.

Archer reached for a weapon, and found his sidearm in its holster, fully loaded. Archer drew the weapon as the assassin got up, and fired three shots in his attacker's chest. _Bang! Bang! Bang!_ Rang throughout the small transit. The assassin recoiled from the shots, and fell backs slightly on their feet, but still stood up.

The assassin prepared to strike again as he recovered from the shots. Archer cursed. His attacker must have been wearing body armor. Archer raised his pistol and promptly shot his attacker in the face. Blood and brain matter splattered the window of the transit, and the assassin fell. Archer reloaded his sidearm, holstered it. And inspected the assassin's body. Archer took off the person's cloak, and discovered, that his assassin was a female. She was not wearing body armor, and all of Archers shots hit her in the stomach. Archer got up, wiped the blood from his hands and hit the intercom.

"Archer to New Eden Security. You're going to want to take a look at this."

---

Archer went to bed after the assassination attempt, and was called to the local police station to help in analyzing what was left of the body. Archer was standing in a low-lit room, with the chief of police and Doctor Malkine next to him. The body of his assassin was on a table in the center of the room, her body prostrate.

"So," said Archer. "What do we know of our killer?"

Malkine pulled out an official report. A picture of a young, attractive blonde haired woman with blue eyes was on the report. Information and statistics were below it. "Name's Elanor Kine. Age 24, single. Lives around ten miles away from here. Her record's clean, not even a traffic violation. She's a pacifist, she has strong anti-war sentiment."

"If she's a pacifist, then why would she attack Captain Archer?" asked the chief of police.

"Unknown, but neighbors have noticed her acting a little strangely a few days ago. She disappeared and wasn't seen since she attacked Captain Archer," replied Malkine.

Archer said nothing. He was simply stunned by all of it. A peaceful, young, attractive woman attacking him for no apparent reason? Yet her strange behavior seemed to correlate with the finding of the mysterious artifact that Archer and his team discovered. Malkine said something, but Archer didn't hear it.

Malkine put his arm on Archer's shoulder and shook him lightly. "Hey, Archer, you ok? You seem a little dazed." Archer waved him off, heard the police chief say something about giving an escort if needed and he left the building. Archer stopped in his tracks as he left the building. Newly painted graffiti was on the building across from Archer, and it read "The Key of Light has fallen. May his killer burn in the depths of Hell."

Archer had no clue what it meant by the Key of the Light, but he had a bad feeling in his gut as he read it, and Archer learned to trust his instincts. An old newspaper dated July 25th was at Archers feet. Archer's eyes widened, and he felt a rush of adrenaline. The headline read _"Doctor Halsey Assassinated". _Archer picked up the newspaper and read the article.

"_Doctor Halsey, chief of the excavation team that recently discovered an alien artifact here on Sigma Altaris VI was killed by a cloaked person who subsequently escaped after killing Halsey. No one knows why Halsey was murdered, but it's believed to have to do with the artifact."_

That was it. Archer had had enough. He picked the newspaper up and ran, right towards the metro, with his sidearm in his right hand. He stormed into a private military transit, and punched in the coordinates for downtown New Eden City. After a few minutes, Archer arrived in downtown, and ran right towards the Grand New Eden Hotel.

He ran through the door, and knocked over someone, but he didn't pause to help him up. A wide-eyed female clerk was at the desk.

"I need to talk to Rachael McDaniel. Now. Tell her it's quite urgent," said Archer, gun still in his hand. The wide-eyed clerk nodded quickly, and dialed up a number and rapidly spoke into the phone.

"She said for you to simply come to her room. It's on the third floor. Room 3019. She said she was expecting you." And with that, Archer walked up the staircase, and arrived at Room 3019. He knocked three times, and waited. Rachael McDaniel opened the door, with her hair messed up. She was wearing red pajamas.

Rachael rubbed her eyes. "Archer? What are you doing here?" Archer grabbed Rachael's arm, and closed the door. He put the paper in Rachael's hand and let her go.

"Read it," Archer said. Rachael read the paper, her eyes widened and she looked up. "Also, last night I was attacked, at around the same time Doctor Halsey was killed. I survived by killing my attacker. But before I killed her, I had shot her three times in the chest, and she didn't look dazed by it at all. She simply raised her knife at me and charged before I shot her in the face. Both these attacks happened the same day we activated the artifact, and I think they have something to do with both ONI and that artifact we found."

Rachael nodded. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"Yes. I want to join the Resistance. But I'll stay in the Consortium. I'm still loyal to Earth. I'll give you any information, and nothing more. Is that clear?" Rachael nodded again. Archer's cell phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Archer? Understood." He turned to Rachael. "I have to go. Admiral Hanley has ordered me and the _Zephranteyes_ to the Ceti Alpha system to deal with renegades. I'll keep you informed," and with that Archer opened the door, and left.

---

Three hours later, Archer arrived onboard _Zephranteyes _and gave the order to make way. The _Zephranteyes_ activated the main Ion engines and headed for the edge of the Sigma Altaris System, where they jumped. After two weeks of uneventful travel, _Zephranteyes_ arrived at Ceti Alpha Prime.

Lieutenant Kylie Cunningham, the _Zephranteyes_ communications officer, spoke up.

"Captain, sensors indicate four ships in orbit of Ceti Alpha Prime; a frigate and two corvettes, and a ship of unknown configuration, sir."

"On screen," said Archer. And the rebel ships appeared in front of Archer.

"Sir, they are powering weapons and launching light fighters. What are your orders, sir?" asked Cunningham.

Archer stared at the view screen and thought. "Launch _Achilles _fighters, arm all point defense blasters, and Chiron Missile Bays A and B. Target the Corvettes." The officers on the bridge typed away rapidly on their console and barking orders over the comm. The forward launch bay doors opened, and a dozen Chiron Heavy Missiles streaked away from the _Zephranteyes_ to the oncoming rebel ships.

At the same time, smaller doors opened on the side of the _Zephranteyes, _and two squadrons of _Achilles _class interceptors fired their engines and swooped away from the destroyer, and engaged their rebel counterparts. Ten seconds after the Chiron missiles were launched, twelve pinpricks of light erupted near the Corvettes.

One Corvette fired their emergency thrusters and managed to escape the deadly fireballs around them. The other wasn't so lucky. Ten of the missiles exploded near her engines, and the explosions ripped through the tiny amounts of armor that the Corvette had. The engines shut down, and exploded, destroying the tiny ship.

The rebel Frigate responded by firing their main rail guns at the _Zephranteyes_. Two large streaks fired from the frigate and impacted on the side of the _Zephranteyes._ The ship shook.

"Return fire! Target that ship with Bays C and D, and fire rail guns!" Shouted Archer. Twelve more missiles launched from the weapons bays of the _Zephranteyes_, and two bolts of death plunged straight at the enemy frigate. The frigate fired their autoguns at the oncoming missiles, and two exploded. Six of the missiles missed the frigate completely, but the other four missiles hit aft of the frigate. Both railgun shoots made their mark and hit the frigate straight at her bridge.

The frigate drifted dead in space. The other surviving rebel corvette exploded as the _Achilles_ fighters destroyed the last rebel fighters, and fired their machine guns and missiles at it.

The bridge crew let out a triumphant shout. "Enemy ship destroyed. Only one more to go." The _Achilles_ fighters swooped away from the wreckage of the rebel corvette and made their run at the large, black starship that was the last of the attacking fleet. The ship responded by firing a pink, continuous energy beam at the fighters. The smaller craft exploded instantly.

The shouts of the bridge crew died down. The beam swept over the wreckage of the fighters one more time, and then struck the _Zephranteyes_ at her stern. Panels on the bridge exploded, and oxygen leaked from overhead vents. Some members of the crew flew to the sides and hit the bulkheads.

"Damage report!" shouted Archer over the din of chaos.

"Engines have been hit! We're leaking coolant from the reactor!" shouted back one of the bridge crew.

"Reactor status?!?"

"Reactor at 50 power!"

"Fire all remaining Chiron missiles at that ship! Target railguns as well! Let's kill this bastard!"

Weapons bays opened, and dozens of missiles streaked toward the black ship. The _Zephranteyes_ fired her railguns angrily at the rebel vessel. The missiles exploded, and the railguns hit the broadside of the ship. The attacking ship took no apparent damage.

"Damn!" cursed Archer. "Weapons officer, prepare the Ion Cannon!" The bridge crew all paused and looked up at Archer. Out of all weapons onboard the _Zephranteyes, _the Ion Cannon was the strongest weapon in the entire Consortium arsenal. It was also, a very power-draining weapon.

The weapons officer paused for a second, and nodded. "Aye, sir. Powering Ion Cannon." The bridge lights dimmed for a second, and then died. The red emergency lights activated. Motes of bright blue energy collected at the front of the _Zephranteyes. _The black ship fired again, and hit the Consortium destroyer in the engine.

"Minor damage to engines. Charge at 90."

"Fire all guns!" shouted Archer. And with that, the collection of energy hurled away and hit the enemy vessel dead on. The ship crackled with energy for a moment, and the ship continued to move towards the _Zephranteyes._

"We're doomed…" said Archer, putting his hands in his face.

One of the officers gasped. "Wait, sir. Look." And Archer looked up. A secondary explosion went off inside the vessel, and it exploded. The crew let out a cheer. Archer sighed, and murmured for the crew to settle down.

"Damage report."

"Sir. Chiron missile bays are all empty. All _Achilles _fighters vaporized, hull integrity at 45, reactor at 40. Sir. We're being hailed."

"Put them onscreen." And with that, a short man who appeared to be in his 50s appeared.

"Captain Archer! So good of you to take care of these rebels. They've been blackmailing us for days now. Saying if we hadn't turned over all information on our alien artifact, they'd respond with extreme forces."

Archer held up a hand. "Wait, wait, wait. What artifacts? Last I checked, Ceti Alpha Prime had _no _alien artifacts on it whatsoever."

The man shrugged. "That's what we thought to, until the rebels showed us the coordinates of one. A temple about a hundred miles north of where I am."

Archer paused. "Mind if I come down to investigate?"

The man grinned. "Not at all. I'd be happy to have you see it. I'll meet you at the spaceport in an hour." And the screen went dead.

Archer got up. "Lieutenant Cunningham, I want a platoon of marines to accompany me down to the surface. Just because we destroyed the rebel ships, doesn't mean there are additional rebels on the planet."

Cunningham nodded, and hit the intercom. As Archer strolled off the bridge and took the turbolift, he had a very bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling.

End of Chapter 3.


End file.
